Time of Our Lives
by sweet-virginia-sparks
Summary: To movie nights and allnighters. To fireflies at dusk. To fights and firsts. To ice cream and pool parties. To first love and loving unconditionally. To road trips and food fights. To family and late night phone calls. To summer. To the time of our lives.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hi everyone! This is my new story and I'm so excited for it, I hope you all like it. I have to saw a really, really big thank you to Katie (DramaticStarlet) for being my inspiration, my beta and my best friend.

I also want to say that I'm trying to make this story as real as possible, so there will some chapters with out a lot of drama, because honestly, life is like that. And sometimes characters will have flaws, and not every situation will always be perfectly resolved. But life is life and I like it that way.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Not mine.Not even a little bit.

* * *

The summer sun shone through my balcony doors, illuminating the mess my bedroom had become in the last week. Clothes and books littered the floor and my backpack, now unneeded for the next two and half months, rested against my wall, it's contents spilling into piles of binders and pencils. Sharpay's voice rang over my cell phone as she counted off the many, many items she was bringing to her month long vacation in East Hampton. 

"Uh, Sharpay, I don't know if you're really going to need_ twelve_ swimsuits, you're only going to be in East Hampton for a month." I switched my pink Razr cell phone to my left ear and pulled open my shirt drawer, ruffling past a light pink t-shirt to pull out a blue camisole, which I threw into a growing pile of clothes on my bed.

"Gabs," her voice was amused; I could almost see her smirk as she examined her manicured nails. "Of course I _need_ twelve swimsuits, but that's beside the point. Should I bring my red cowboy boots _and _my turquoise ones, or are the turquoise ones too West Coast for New York?"

My forehead wrinkled in confusion as I searched my bottom drawer for my jean shorts, which, of course, I remember I had thrown into the laundry hamper last night.

"I'm not really sure Sharpay, I mean, not everyone in New York has the same fashion taste, so you would probably be fine to bring them."

"But Gabby, you lived in New York! Don't you remember what everyone wore?"

"Yeah, Winnie the Pooh t-shirts and Velcro sneakers. Shar, I was five!" I laughed and switched the phone back to my right ear.

"Fine, fine, fine," she laughed. "So," her voice was cheery. "Are you packing too?"

I frowned and looked at the messy pile of clothes in front of me. "Um, yeah. Well, trying at least. Ironically, I've never been good at packing."

The next morning, and rather early in my opinion, I was leaving for the Danforth's lake house at Red Valley Lake with Troy, Chad, Taylor, Zeke and Jason. It took us three weeks to convince our parents to let us go on a trip together, but after assuring them that both Chad's parents would be there all four days (and that we wouldn't do anything stupid, which was probably a complete lie) they agreed and the trip was planned. Kelsi was already at Julliard for a musical program so Taylor and I were sticking it out as the only girls on the trip.

"Trust me, I can totally relate to that. A couple years ago, my dad started putting size restriction on the suitcases I use, because according to him, I always bring too much stuff."

I flopped onto the edge of my bed, accidentally sitting on a navy blue bra. "Hmm," I laughed. "I wonder why he thinks that."

"Very funny, Babs," Sharpay laughed, using the nickname she had invented for me months before that had somehow quickly caught on. "But listen, I gotta go now, my mom is calling me for dinner."

"Okay. Oh wait, I guess I won't talk to you until you're in New York."

"Yeah," she realized. "I can't believe we won't see each other for a month." She sounded sad. "I'll miss you, hun."

"I'll miss you too, Shar," I smiled. "Say hello to New York for me."

Tucking a curl behind my ear, I leaned forward to ring the doorbell of the Bolton house. Stuck in a packing rut I told my mom I had left my iPod at Troy's house and quickly left my room. It wasn't a total lie, I had indeed left my iPod in his kitchen yesterday, we had been cleaning all the whipped cream off of it (it was a sundae making experience gone way wrong), although I suppose he could just bring it me the next morning. Either way, it was an excuse to get out of my house where my clothes pile and empty suitcase were sitting there, mocking my inability to pack.

"Gabiella!" I looked down as the front door of the Bolton house swung open to see six year-old Chase Bolton standing in the foyer. Dressed in a blue and yellow striped polo and little jean shorts, he had on a red cape around his neck and only one shoe. His short brown hair was lighter than Troy's but his eyes were the same shade of blue. He had an adorable face and a bridge of freckles across his nose.

"Hi Chase. Is your brother here?"

Chase took a deep breath and suddenly yelled, "Aleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeec!"

"No, no, no honey!" I waved my arms and bent down to his level. "I mean your other brother."

"Oh." Chase paused then opened his small mouth again. "Trooooooooooooooooooy!"

Suddenly, Troy came walking into the foyer with both hands over his ears. "What?" He snapped, then seeing me in the doorway he grinned, "Gabby!"

"Hi! You're impossible to reach, did you know that?"

Troy smiled and leaned in to kiss me as a bunch of giggles came from a small, laughing boy. Pulling back, Troy goofily shot his youngest brother a dirty look and the six year old took off running into the kitchen.

"So what's up?" He asked. "Here, come on in."

We walked into the Spanish style kitchen, where thirteen year old Alec, miniature Troy with a rounder face and shaggier hair, was sitting at the table on a laptop and little Chase was playing with the letter magnets on the refrigerator. So far he had spelled 'FKSJWEL'.

"I left my iPod here, I called you to let you know I was coming over but your cell went right to voice mail and your house phone was busy."

"Yeah, well, _someone_," Troy glared over at Alec, "was on the phone for half an hour with a _girl_. And someone else may have accidentally not charged their cell phone yet." He smirked, it was one of his bad habits to let his phone run out of battery then leave it sitting in his room uncharged for about three days.

"Shocking." I teased him.

"Yeah, well…Want to go on the porch?"

I nodded and Troy opened the kitchen's sliding glass doors leading us to the porch overlooking the back yard. We sat down on a brown wicker sofa and he pulled me close with his strong arm.

"So are you excited about tomorrow?"

"Of course, "I responded. "This trip is going to be amazing. It'll be fun being there with you."

Although I couldn't see him I knew he was smiling, because he was silent for a second before kissing the top of my head and asking, "So it's worth the seven AM departure?"

"Ugh, "I groaned. "Don't remind me."

* * *

AN: So the Wildcats are heading out for the summer! I'd _love_ to hear any ideas you all have, I want to write what you want to read so let me know! And also, I use traditional pairs except for Jason & Kelsi, I'll most likely do Ryan & Kelsi or write my own partners for them. I hope you liked this, you can expect the second chapter soon because surprisingly, I've actually started it already. 

Love you all!

Sparks

xoxoxo


	2. Chapter 2

AN: You all are amazing! Thanks for all the love ♥

Disclaimer: Not mine.Not even a little bit.

* * *

"Blueberry muffin?" 

I dropped my duffle onto the pile of suitcases my friends had built with their own bags and slid into a chair at the Danforth kitchen table where Chad, Troy and Taylor were seated eating muffins and cheese puffs. Zeke walked over with a plastic bag of muffins (and a smile way to big for seven in the morning) but I mumbled something incoherently and put my head on the table.

Troy laughed and rubbed my back; I peeked up at him and frowned.

"Morning sunshine." He joked.

"Ugggggh." I dropped my head back down and closed my eyes.

Suddenly Jason stumbled into the kitchen, slung his bag onto the ground and collapsed into the chair next to me. Oh thank god.

"Finally," I yawned. "Somebody who understands me. I love you Jason." I shifted my body and let my head drop onto his shoulder and his head fell onto mine.

"How is everyone else so awake?" Jason mumbled against my hair.

"I have no idea."

I yawned again but suddenly Chad's loud voice boomed across the kitchen, "Okay, let's do a packing check!"

Oh for god's sake.

"iPods?"

"Check."

"Waterproof iPod speakers?"

"Check."

"Movies?"

"Check."

"Including 'Charlie's Angels'?"

"Oh my god." I mumbled as Zeke shouted "Check."

"Cards -"

"Cards?" Taylor questioned with a smile. "That's very intelligent of you guys."

"- for strip poker?"

"Oh my god, Chad!"

"What?!" Chad asked looking up from his ridiculous check list.

Taylor rolled her eyes and we all laughed as Sharon Danforth came into the kitchen. She was a beautiful woman with a pearly white smile and curly hair to her shoulders. "Hi kids."

"Hi Mrs. Danforth." We chorused, some of us more awake than others.

"We're leaving pretty soon, you all ready?"

Suddenly, Mark Danforth entered the room, car keys in hand. He was a tall man, ironically bald, although I tried to imagine him with Chad's hair. "Grab your suitcases kids; we're pullin' out in two minutes!"

We bounced (and some of us stumbled) out of the kitchen, grabbing our bags, and walked out to the driveway. I stood in front of Troy and leaned into his chest with his strong arms holding me tightly. Zeke and Mr. Danforth loaded our bags into the cars, while I took my power nap, which I must admit, Troy made difficult to enjoy with his consistent talking. Apparently, it was completely necessary for him to talk to Chad at that_ very moment,_ in that_ very loud voice_.

"Umph, Troy?" I wrapped my arms around his waist and breathed deeply.

"Yeah Gabs?"

"Stop talking so loud!"

I sat in the very back of Mrs. Danforth's SUV next to Taylor, our small bags dropped together on the ground, packed with essentials like cell phones and tampon wrappers. Troy was sitting directly in front of me, and I leaned forward to run my hands through his hair, a happy smile on my face. I used to feel self-conscious about being affectionate with him in front of everyone, but gradually I've become more comfortable and I enjoyed the little touches that sent chills across my skin.

"So since I was voted off the island, "Chad turned around in the front seat, exaggerating his situation. "Then I think I should get to play my iPod on the car speakers."

"No."

"Absolutely not."

"No way."

"Never."

"Yeah right."

Chad snorted and turned back around in his seat, a fake pout on his face. And suddenly, Mrs. Danforth pulled out of the driveway, following Mr. Danforth's Ford Taurus down Sheridan Drive.

Five minutes into the trip Jason had ripped open a bag of gummy worms and two minutes after that we had finished off the entire thing.

"I wonder how they make gummy worms." Zeke wondered, examining the last red and yellow artificial bug rolling around in his fingers.

Jason plucked it from Zeke's fingers and stuffed the worm into his mouth, "Phank ew."

"Jason, that's disgusting." Taylor scolded. Jason swallowed and looked at her with a smirk, "I was just saying thank you Tay." I chuckled as Taylor leaned back, rolling her eyes and stuck the headphones of her blue iPod Mini in her ears.

All of a sudden I jumped when I felt something on my knee, I looked down to see Troy's left hand reach back from his row and find its place on my leg. He squeezed my knee then opened his hand for me to take, all the while sitting in his seat looking out the front window. With a smile I took his hand and squeezed it back as the miles of the highway passed by.

One hour down. Thirty minutes to go.

Jason twisted around in his seat and peered over the back. He twisted up his face and looked around. "Umm...Taylor's flip-flops?"

"Nope." I said exasperated as my head fell against the headrest. We were playing I Spy and I quickly learned that Jason was awful, to put it nicely.

"That stripe on your bag?"

"No! Jason-!" Suddenly, I heard my phone beep and my hand rustled through my bag to grab it.

"Shar just met some guy at the airport, "I laughed, reading the text message she had sent seconds before. "She's says he's gorgeous."

Zeke's head snapped up and his eyes focused on me before quickly looking out the window as if he hadn't heard anything, but I could see him clench his jaw and wave of guilt hit me hard.

"Oh god, I'm sorry Zeke." The pair had been on and off for months and currently, they were the latter. It seemed no matter what happened, Zeke still held a candle for her, although sometimes even we, her best friends, couldn't figure out why.

Everyone in the car got quiet and looked back and forth between Zeke and me. Zeke didn't seem to acknowledge my words and I thought that was the end of the conversation until he turned around and his face was angry. "Whatever Gab, just stay the fuck out of it." He hissed the last part, obviously trying to keep Mrs. Danforth from overhearing; she had noticed the violent drop in noise and looked at us curiously from her rearview mirror.

I sat there shocked and blinked a couple times with my mouth slightly open. Zeke had already turned around and I felt everybody's eyes burning into me, just as surprised as I was. The silence made my cheeks flare and I looked out the window as the rest of the car turned awkwardly back to what they were doing.

_Whatever Gab, just stay the fuck out of it._

Shit.

* * *

AN: Poor Gabby, poor Zeke. Don't worry, they'll work it out, you have to understand that while Zeke is such a sweet guy he and Sharpay are pretty complicated and it's hard for him. 

I hope you all liked this, I completely changed the ending to add in the drama so tell me what you think! And again, lots of hugs for Katie!

xoxoxo

Sparks


	3. Chapter 3

Important A/N: I just want to point out that this story is Gabriella-centric, not Troyella-centric. While it is Troyella, the focus of the story is on Gabriella's summer and everything that comes with it. So while I assure you that Troy & Gabby will have their own drama, not every chapter is focused on their relationship.

Enjoy!

* * *

The Danforth's cabin was a summer house out of a movie. Three bedrooms and two small bathrooms, it had a front porch, a tiny kitchen and a closet in the living room full of miscellaneous board games, which strangely included a German version of Monopoly. There was a stone fireplace with a pile of old newspapers and hooks outside by the front doors for wet towels and swimsuits. It was perfect.

Taylor and I were sharing a room, Troy and Zeke had the one beside us and the Danforths were across the hall in the master bedroom. Chad and Jason, who lost the boy's game of flipping a coin, were going to be in sleeping bags in living room.

I pulled open the top drawer of my small, wooden dresser and started putting in my clothes (I guarantee the boys were not unpacking as that would demonstrate organization and responsibility). Suddenly, Zeke knocked on the wall and I looked up to see him standing in the doorway looking a little uneasy.

"Um Gabriella…I just um….well, do you wanna come outside for a second?"

I looked at Taylor who had her eyebrows raised, then dropped my clothes on the bed and nodded. "Okay."

We walked outside to the driveway and I waited for him to speak.

"Listen Gabs, I'm really, really sorry. I mean, I was just pissed and telling you to fuck off was probably not the nicest thing to say."

I nodded slowly; Zeke was always the sweet one.It was hard to stay mad but it was also hard to forgive for something like that.

"I was just angry that you said that…you know, after what happened." He put his hands in his pockets.

I looked at him surprised, "What do you mean 'after what happened'?"

"You know, after what happened last week with me and Shar."

Obviously, I had missed something.

"Zeke, what are you talking about?"

He looked surprised, then scratched his head. "You know, the thing that happened about a week ago at Sharpay's house." He raised his eyebrow, obviously trying to hint something to me.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about."

"Shar didn't tell you anything?" He looked a little hurt and I felt bad shaking my head.

"Oh." He paused. "Then, I guess I should tell you, because after getting so mad I think you deserve to know why."

"Okay." I said slowly, completely clueless as to what was going on.

"So um, it's not that much of a story but last week, like about five days ago, Shar and I, um…..got together…."

"Wait, do you mean _got together_?"

He nodded and I quickly closed my open mouth.

"But then she completely blew me off and I think she was hooking up with some other guy before she left."

I am officially the most horrible person on the planet. No wonder he got angry, I wouldn't blame him for kicking me out of the car. And now he was apologizing? I should be apologizing!

He sighed, "And that's about it."

"Zeke," I breathed. "Oh my gosh, I don't even know what to say. I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea. I _never_ would have read that text out loud if I knew."

"It's okay. I mean, I feel bad though because I was really angry at you, but now I know it wasn't your fault."

"No, no Zeke, it was. Even not knowing about what happened last week, it was a mean thing to tell you."

"No Gabs, it's cool." We stood there for a second in silence. "Can we just forget about it?"

"Yeah," I laughed. "That would be a good idea."

He smiled and held his arms out. I grinned and stepped into the hug.

"Zeke?"

"Yeah?"

"I think she's being really stupid not holding onto you."

"Thanks Gab."

Thirty minutes later I dropped my towel on the grass and walked out onto the dock. The lake was just down a wooded path from the house and after unpacking we headed down to swim. I hesitantly put my toe in the water and swirled it around.

"It's cold." I pouted.

"You just gotta jump in Gabby." Chad said. Then he ran down the dock and hit the water doing a cannon ball. Zeke followed, Jason coming in third and Troy jumping in as the others came to the surface. After talking to me I gathered that Zeke had also apologized to Troy. He had been angry Zeke had spoken to me like he did, but being guys it was all quickly forgotten.

"Get in." Troy shouted from the water. "It feels really good."

"It's cold." I repeated.

Troy rolled his eyes and dived under. Chad came over the dock and used his hands to send a huge wave of water at us. Taylor glared at him, but then she jumped into the water to tackle him and I stood alone on the wooden dock. I watched the other five swim around.

"Okay Gabs," Troy smirked. "You're the last one left. Come in."

"But-"

"It's cold. I know, I know, you've said that twice. Just get in!"

"People can die from extreme temperature change, I hope you know."

"You have got be kidding me." He laughed. "Now get in, or I'm pushing you off the dock."

I took a deep breath, then closing my eyes I jumped off the dock into the lake, which I must admit, was not as cold as I thought it would be. When I came to the surface I saw Troy grinning in front of me.

"So is it horrible? Are you going to freeze and die and cold, icy death?" He teased as he treaded water.

"I hate you." I stuck my tongue out but he grabbed my hands and pulled me towards him, laying our entwined hands on his shoulders.

"I don't think you mean that." He whispered before pulling me under with him.

The cabin had a fire pit out in the large backyard and the six of us sat around on logs and canvas chairs. The sun had set only an hour before and the fire was blazing. I sat Indian style on the ground between Troy's legs. He was sitting behind me in a chair, rubbing his bare toes against my leg.

"I was wondering why your suitcase was so big!" I laughed as Zeke opened three large plastic containers of cookies and cupcakes. When the first container was passed to me I took out a vanilla cupcake, topped with chocolate icing, which I knew Zeke had made from scratch because it was absolutely delicious.

The night air was chilly and I was glad I had my jeans and Troy's sweatshirt to keep me warm. I smiled when I felt a toe touch under my leg so I leaned back and looked up at the talking boy. He continued to joke with Chad but I felt his hands gently graze my temples before taking my hair and running his fingers through it. I got instant, wonderful goose bumps at his touch.

Two weeks into our relationship I had been introduced to desire. It was the physical desire to touch and be touched, and since that February afternoon in the school parking lot with Troy all those months ago, I became completely in love with it.

The conversation trailed off and we all sat there silently watching the flames. I swiped my finger through the icing on my cupcake and held it up behind me for Troy to eat. Very slowly he leaned forward and took my finger in his mouth. My body filled with a tingly warmth as he sucked the icing off and his tongue pressed against my skin.

My eyes closed and a chill went up my spine. Between the night air, the warm fire, the sound of the crickets and the crackling flames and most of all, feeling Troy against me, I basked in the atmosphere. But I sighed when I looked across the fire pit and saw Zeke sitting in front of me. He appeared to be happy but I felt guilty, because here I was on vacation beside my boyfriend, so utterly content and even if Sharpay had been here, more than likely, he would still be sitting alone. A wave of sadness ran through me, he continued to fight so hard for someone who at the moment, was most likely with some other guy. He looked up and I gave him a smile.

"This cupcake is amazing Zeke." The least I could do was keep him smiling.

* * *

A/N: Who else just wants to give Zeke a big hug? Stay positive though, I have a feeling things might end well for him ;) And doesn't it just make you squee imagining them all around the fire, Troy so seductively sucking icing off Gabby's finger? Seriously, I need to find my own Troy Bolton.

I really appreciate reviews, they don't have to be long, but if you read the story I would love to hear from you. Thanks!

xoxoxox

Sparks


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Your reviews for the last chapter were amazing! I've never gotten such detailed and thoughtful reviews, so thank you so much! You all really made my day, you are so sweet. Cookies for everyone :) And I'm glad you all liked the Troyella so much, because this chapter has A LOT of it ;)

Disclaimer: Don't own HSM, don't own Fruit Loops, don't own PS3 & don't own Sharpie.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

We woke up the next morning to discover that yesterday's blue skies were now housing gray clouds. Jason looked disappointedly out the window. Rain drizzled down, we could hear it on the porch as it hit the house with a steady rhythm.

"It's raining." He threw his hands up. "It's raining!"

We all sat around the kitchen table, cereal and bagels being passed between us on mismatching yellow and china print plates, even though it was only an hour until noon.

Troy swallowed a spoonful of his soggy Fruit Loops. "Well, we can still go swimming in the rain, right Chad? It's not raining that hard."

"Oh, yeah." Chad grinned and flicked a piece of dry cereal across the table.

Jason look thrilled as he slid into his seat. "Awesome."

I looked hesitantly at Taylor. "Really?"

Troy looked up from his cereal bowl and wiped his mouth. "Oh, you don't have a choice Gabs, you're coming in."

It was about ten minutes later Taylor and I walked into our room to change. The boys had gotten their trunks on already and had hooked up Chad's PlayStation 3 to the television. Once Chad had told them he was going to set it up, it took about half a second for them to change and come running into the living room. I told Taylor they resembled wild animals, she agreed wholeheartedly.

My cell phone sat on my wooden dresser and I flipped it open to see that I'd missed a call from my mom. I decided to call her back before we went outside.

"Mom?" She picked up the phone with her cheery 'hello'.

"Hi, sweetheart. How's it all going?"

"It's great, Mom, we're having a lot of fun."

"Oh, I'm glad, honey. Listen, your dad called this morning. He'll be in Albuquerque for a meeting on the ninth and since Kathleen has a baby shower that day anyway, he was thinking he could bring Laina down with him and stay a couple days to visit."

My smile must have been a mile wide. Laina was my three year-old half-sister who lived in San Diego, California with my dad and my step-mom Kathleen. Kathy was pregnant with my other sister, who was due at the end of August. "Yes! Oh my gosh mom, that would be great. Really?!"

"He said he'd love to visit and Laina is dying to see you. He would need someone to watch her though the day of the meeting. I told him you wouldn't mind."

"Of course not! I'm so glad they're coming."

My mom laughed, "I thought so, sweetheart. I'll call him back and tell him how thrilled you are."

"Thanks mom. I love you."

"I love you too, honey."

I closed my phone absolutely grinning. Taylor looked at me curiously. "What's the great news?"

"My dad and sister are coming!" I exclaimed. "He's got a meeting in Albuquerque on July seventh so he's bringing Laina and they're staying for a couple days."

"Gabby, that's awesome! I really want to meet your sister."

"Yeah, she's pretty adorable." I boasted. I had only seen her twice since I moved, and both times I flew to California so no one in Albuquerque had met my other family.

Once I changed into my white bikini I joined the group of wild animals in the living room. Zeke and Chad seemed to be playing an intense round of a racing game, possibly involving aliens and cowboys, although I failed to see how the two related. Troy was sitting in a chair and saw me walk in with the huge smile on my face.

"What's up?"

"My dad and sister are coming in a couple weeks to visit." I gushed.

He smiled as I walked over to him, sitting onto his lap. "Awesome. You haven't seen them in awhile."

"Not since spring break."

"Well, I'm really happy for you."

Leaning close, I looked him in the eye. I wrapped my hands around the back of his head and ran my fingers through the hair above his neck. "I want you to meet him, you know." I whispered.

"You want me to meet your dad?"

I nodded and his eyes smiled before he leaned in to kiss me. "I'd like that."

The rain had actually stopped by the time we got outside and the sun was starting to peek through. Jason seemed to be quite happy at this. He was in the water, hanging off the side of the dock with Chad and Zeke. Taylor was making small ripples with her feet in the lake and I was on Troy's back, still completely dry.

"You wanna go in now, Gabs?" He asked and I held onto his shoulders.

My chin rested on his back. "No, thanks."

I swear I could hear his eyes twinkle. "Oh, was that a 'yes' I heard? Well, okay, if you insist." And suddenly he was jumping off the dock, still holding my legs, and we hit the water together with a huge splash.

"Troy!" I was laughing and yelling at the same time.

He came up from the under the water and shook his head like a wet dog. "It feels nice, Gabby."

I shook my head, but I was smiling. "You're an ass."

A few minutes passed when he swam the four feet over to the shore and I followed.

I watched him pull himself up onto the dock with his strong arms. By the time I was up, he had my towel in his hands and he wrapped it around my shoulders. The others didn't seem to mind that we got out, I think Zeke and Jason were trying to hold each other under the water. Troy laid his towel on the grass and I happily sat down beside him.

"It did feel kind of nice." I admitted, my wet hair dripping onto his side as I pulled my towel close around my body and wiped the water from my face.

He wrapped an arm around me and moved his lips to the side of my head. His warm breath tickled my ear. "This feels kind of nice too."

"Why the hell is there a _Sharpie_ on the ground?"

It was almost dark and the six of us were using flash lights to set up our sleeping bags. Our beds were going to be abandoned that night as we slept outside under the stars, down by the dock. We had promised Chad's parents we wouldn't swim in the dark and they had helped us find enough pillows, blankets and bags to use.

"No idea." Chad picked the pen up and drew a line down Jason's arm. "Hey look, it still works!"

"Hey!" Jason shouted. "Give me that. _I_ found it." He swiped the pen from Chad and the rest of us just laughed.

It took about ten minutes to figure out where everyone was going to sleep and then to get everything set up. Finally, with Taylor on one side and Troy on the other side of me, we had formed some type of disfigured circle configuration, and I sat on my forest green sleeping bag. The temperature really dropped at night so we all had long pants, socks and sweatshirts.

We sat around chatting and laughing, Jason was having fun playing with the flashlight and somehow I had ended up with the Sharpie in the pocket of my sweatshirt, when Troy leaned over and whispered huskily into my ear. "Want to go for a walk?"

"Yeah." I whispered back with a smile and Troy stood up, taking my hand.

"Where are you guys going?" Jason asked, pointing the bright flashlight directly into our eyes.

We squinted and used our hands to cover our faces. "We're just going on a walk."

"Oh, _really_?" Chad asked suggestively. "Well, have fun."

The group laughed but Troy smiled, "Oh, we will." They began to whistle as we walked away.

"You're leaving me with all the boys!" Taylor protested with her arms in the air.

"I think you'll manage."

Troy linked our hands and brought them to his lips, softly kissing each one of my fingers. We walked until we had rounded the curve of the lake, and the trees cut us off from our friends. Troy sat down on the grass and I sighed with content as I sat down too and leaned into his body. We could see the moon reflecting off the lake and he looked so good in his baggy jeans and soft, navy blue hoodie, the pocket of which I was rubbing between my fingers.

"I love you, Troy."

He kissed the top of my head and I leaned back on his chest to smile up at him. Then the world seemed to stop as his blue eyes looked up and down my face, even in the dark I could see all his eyelashes and the freckles across his nose. He kissed my forehead and then the sucked on the tip of my nose. Then, he paused for a second, his face only centimeters from mine, his breath coming in short wisps and suddenly he kissed me hard on the lips.

He kissed with such force that I fell back on the grass, but I grabbed his arms and he landed on top of me, kissing me again and again. Then he pulled away, tucked a curl behind my ear and put his hands on my waist. I jumped at their touch.

"What's wrong?" He asked curiously.

"Your hands are cold." I whispered with a smirk. "You're giving me goose bumps."

"Good." He said mischievously and opened my lips with his tongue, I couldn't help but gasp.

Instinct took over, desire set in and I found myself locking our ankles, bringing our bodies even closer. His hands ran up and down my sides and I threaded my fingers through his brown locks. When he finally pulled away he rolled over and held me on top of his strong body, I leaned down and our foreheads touched. Our breathing was heavy and I kissed him softly before dropping my head onto his shoulder. He held me, his finger running lazily up and down my back, and I put my face into his neck, letting my lips lightly brush his skin.

"God, I love you." He whispered.

My hands lay on his chest and I gripped his sweatshirt, I tried to hold them back but a couple of small tears came to my eyes.

"Hey, honey. What's wrong?" Troy felt me wipe my eyes.

I gave a small laugh and looked down at him. It was only in the most private moments he used those names.

"I just…" I smiled at him. "Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am, you know? Everything has changed so much this year and I'm just so happy."

He grinned and wiped the last tear from my cheek. "Ditto." Then he leaned up and his lips touched my ear _just so_. "I love you."

I leaned back down and breathed him in. "You…." I whispered. "Are perfect."

The two of us lay there in silence until we realized that if we didn't go back soon, our friends might come looking for us, which as anyone could guess, would probably be a disastrous hunt. When I stood up I gave him a hug, it was so comfortable to stand together in our big sweatshirts.

"Ow." Troy laughed when I pulled him close. "What was that?"

My fingers touched the Sharpie marker in my pocket and I held it up to him.

"May I?" I asked, uncapping it and pretending to draw in the cool night air.

"Sure." He laughed. "But not anything to bad."

I shook my head and slowly pulled his shirt and hoodie up, revealing his very toned middle.

"This," I told him. "Is where _my_ heart beats on _you_."

I blew on my drawing and he looked down to see his new tattoo. It was a light blue heart just under his chest, almost the exact place where my heart was when he held me.

"You can wash it off if you want. It's kind of girly."

"Nah," He shook his head, dropped his sweatshirt back over his torso and took my hand. "I kinda like it."

_Zip. Zip. Ziiiiiiiiip._

Around one in the morning we actually got into our sleeping bags, although most of them seemed to be covered in lost popcorn kernels and broken potato chips. Which were probably a result of the earlier food attack.

Jason seemed to be half asleep, Chad was eating popcorn and Taylor wriggled around in her sleeping bag.

Suddenly, Zeke shouted, "Dog pile on Gabby!" And five people rolled over in their sleeping bag, crushing me under a pile of crazy.

A/N: I just love the Wildcats, they are so strangely diverse but you can't help but love how they all fit so well.

And Troyella much in this chapter? Once I started writing their scene I couldn't stop, so this is my longest chapter, probably ever! I love them though and the Sharpie heart idea has been in my mind for awhile, so I really wanted to use it.

I hope you like the idea of Mr. Montez and little Laina coming to visit. Don't worry, you'll meet Kathleen (and the new baby?!) later in the story.

As always, every review gets a cupcake from Zeke.

Sparks

xoxoxo

By the way – I realized that after last chapter and the ending of this one, it might look like we have Zeke/Gabby thing developing, but we don't. Zeke is the sweet boy and they are really good friends, but I won't put them together. You'll have to see what happens to Zeke when we get there ;)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hi Readers! So, I know this chapter might be a little later than others…sorry. But I think it turned out good, so I hope you like it. And thanks so much for all the reviews you all have been giving! I appreciate them all :)

Enjoy!

* * *

The theme song to _Die Hard _woke me up – very, very loudly. I squinted and opened one eye to see the sun streaming down and hitting the still water of the lake. Hair stuck to the back of my neck from small beads of sweat and I'd managed to completely tangle myself in my sleeping bag over the night.

The cell phone continued to ring. "Uuuuuuuuuugh. Make it stop." Rolling over, I swatted at the sleeping bag next to me. "Troy, make it stop."

"It's not mine." He grumbled and buried his head under his pillow.

"Well, whose cell phone is it?"

Chad's pillow hit my leg. "Stop Darbusing my vacation!"

"Then turn off the cell phone!" I threw it back with as much force as I could muster at the early hour.

"It's not mine, Gabriella!"

Taylor sprung up and shot us a look to kill. "Will you two shut up!? And someone, geez, turn off that damn cell phone!"

"Guys," Zeke moaned. "Stop talking so loud. And god, someone answer that!"

"Please!" I begged with wide-eyes.

Then, Jason slowly rolled over and rubbed his eyes, yawning. "Dudes, I think my cell phone is ringing."

Five pillows, two legs and three arms hit him in the face.

That early afternoon, the box fan buzzed as it blew air around the room, slowly turning from one side to the other. The air outside was heavy and hot and the fan was our only escape from the heat. A wrinkled and almost empty bag of cheddar popcorn sat on the floor, a couple of kernels spilling onto the patterned rug.

The six of us sat around the coffee table, playing cards. Funny enough, the thing about strip poker is that to play, you have to know how to play poker. Which I do not. I feigned disappointment and offered to sit out, but apparently, that was not an option. So now I sat on the floor of the living room, the rest of the group seated around the same table, playing strip Go Fish.

The Danforth parents had made us agree not to swim while they were out with Jackie and Keith Ohm, another couple who vacation at the lake. It was, by far, the hottest day since we had arrived and since we couldn't swim, Jason had suggested we play strip poker.

"Chad," Troy looked up from his cards. "Do you have an _ocho_?"

"Ha-ha, sucks for you. Nope."

Troy's cards were laid face down on the coffee table and smirking, he pulled off his shirt. Taylor snuck a glance at me, trying to see my reaction, but I laughed and cheered just the same as everyone else. Chad's shirt was already discarded on the floor, Jason had opted to remove his pants and Taylor had lucked out when I had the nine she was looking for.

"Okay Babs," Troy wiggled his eyebrows. "It's your turn."

I grimaced playfully and tapped my cards.

"Zeke, no wait…Jason, do you have a king?"

"A king? Well, I hate to break it you Gabby, but you…are out of luck!"

A round of booing came when I sighed and pulled off my flip-flop.

"Gabby! You're such a cheater!" Troy laughed. "You just happened to be wearing your shoes inside the one time we play strip poker?"

"Yes. And it's Go Fish, by the way." I stuck my tongue out.

"Ah!" I jumped when someone's t-shirt hit me in the face. The game had turned into a clothes-chucking fight after Zeke lost his shorts and they hit Chad in the face. Then, suddenly, my flip-flop went flying out the window when Troy threw it at Jason.

"Oops," Troy laughed. "That was supposed to hit Jay."

"You threw my shoe out the window." I looked at him wide-eyed. "You threw my shoe out the window!"

"I'll go get it Gabby, don't worry." He was still laughing as he began to stand up.

"I'll get it Troy," I shook my head smiling. "I'm getting water from the kitchen anyway."

"Bring us some too!" Jason cried.

I pushed open the screen door and let out a heavy breath when the hot air outside enveloped me. My shoe had landed only a few yards from the open window, but walking over I suddenly felt a sharp pain on the bottom of my bare foot.

"Oh god." A stem of large thorns had fallen into the grass, where I hadn't seen them until I leaned against the house and examined the bottom of my foot. A couple of the thorns had pierced my skin and I whimpered when I pulled one out and immediately saw blood.

I clenched my jaw and wiped my forehead, the air was so heavy and sticky that I was already sweating. There was another thorn in my foot but as I tried to grab it, my surroundings became to seem distant. Dizziness settled in and I began to panic when everything blurred. I realized the voices from the house now seemed miles away and I tried to scream.

"Troy!" I think I was yelling. "I think I'm gonna faint." I managed to get out, afraid. "T-Troy?"

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was that I was lying on the ground with Troy kneeling beside me, his face hovering over my body and his hand pushing hair from my face. The second thing I noticed was my friends standing around me. My memory was completely blank; it felt like I had been asleep for hours.

"Gabby!" Troy sighed with relief. "Hi honey, are you okay?"

"What are you guys doing here?" I looked at them quizzically. My vocal cords seemed to have energy of their own as I found myself talking.

Zeke laughed. "We heard you trying to yell, Gabs."

I had actually been asking why all my friends were at my house, but then, I remembered the lake.

I looked up at Troy. "I think I fainted."

"I think so too, Brie." He gave me a smile and placed his hand on my cheek. I needed something to hold on too so I put my hand on top of his as I began to cry.

"No, Brie. Don't cry. You're fine. Please, don't cry."

Suddenly, I heard Taylor's voice. "Troy, keep her there. If she tries to stand up she might faint again." Taylor said strictly. "I'm going to get her a damp washcloth and something with caffeine." She walked into the house, and at this point I realized nobody had put their clothes back on and they were all standing outside half dressed. I think I might have laughed.

When Taylor reached the door she turned around again and told Troy to raise my feet so blood went to my head. Troy had Jason run inside to grab a couch pillow, which he put under my feet. I was too upset and out of sorts to be embarrassed.

When Taylor came out she was carrying a small, yellow washcloth and a can of Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke. She placed the washcloth on my forehead and the cool towel felt incredible on my skin.

"This was the only soda I could find, Gabby." She held up the Coke can. "When you're ready to sit up I'll open it for you."

"I think I can sit up." I pressed the towel to my forehead.

"Yeah?" Troy asked and I nodded. He took my hand and I lifted my head until I was sitting up, my feet now on either side of the couch pillow. But when he started to pull me into a standing position my head went light and I protested, already afraid of fainting again. So, he lay me back down and adjusted the towel on my head.

Taylor had come to my other side and she too was kneeling beside me. "We'll just wait a minute, it'll be okay, Gabs." She smiled and I was thankful she was there. I'm pretty sure the boys wouldn't have had much of a clue as to what to do if Taylor hadn't been giving them directions.

As I continued to lie on the ground, everyone still half-dressed and surrounding me, I recounted what had happened. Up until then I had forgotten about the cuts on my foot, and they began to sting when I remembered they were there.

Less than a minute later I decided I was okay to stand up and Taylor helped me inside while Troy carried the pillow and the Coke can, waking right beside me, making me laugh by whispering in my ear.

I sat down right away on the couch and Taylor sat next to me. Thankfully, I had stopped crying by now but my head hurt and the cuts on my foot were still stinging.

"You guys keep playing, "I told my friends after I rested for a couple minutes. "I'm going to clean my foot up. Chad, where are the band-aids?"

"I've got band-aids, Gabby." Taylor told me. "Here, I'll come with you." She took my hand and we walked into the bathroom. Troy offered to come too, but I told him he should stay. I felt a little dizzy having to stand up again, especially since my foot was really painful now, and it didn't help that the bathroom was small.

I sat down on the closed toilet and closed my eyes as Taylor handed me a wet and slightly soapy washcloth. When I lifted my foot to clean it, and I saw the blood, I was dizzy all over again.

I quickly shut my eyes and dropped my head between my knees, in order to get the blood flowing downwards.

"Gabby," Taylor put her hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, "I feel…" Breathe in. Breathe out. "Really lightheaded." Breathe in. Breathe Out.

"Okay, um, just keep your head there and breathe deeply. I'll get you another washcloth."

As good as a washcloth might feel, I was scared and discombobulated, and I needed something more.

"Can you…" I breathed. "Can you get Troy? Please."

She was gone before the words were out and only a second later Troy came rushing in and knelt in front of me. Taylor must have stayed in the living room and suddenly I felt guilty for wanting Troy instead of her.

"You okay?" Troy rubbed my upper back and spoke worriedly.

I took a deep breath and slowly sat back up. I nodded. "This is rather embarrassing."

He laughed and shook his head. "No, don't even think that." He kissed my forehead and picked up the wet washcloth. "You want me to do it?"

"I can." I took the yellow towel from him and lightly pressed it on where the thorns had pricked me, until the dirt and blood had disappeared. Troy handed me a couple band-aids that Taylor had put on the sink and he very carefully put them over the cuts. He smiled and tucked my hair behind my ear when he had finished.

"All better?"

"Thank you." I gave him a smile.

He pressed his lips to my forehead, so softly, and I closed my eyes and breathed in the moment. "Anytime." He whispered.

On the first day at Red Valley, Taylor and I had moved the bedside table in our room and pushed our beds together. It was now two hours past midnight and we lay side by side in our double bed, talking.

"What's it like to faint?" She asked me.

"Horrible." I laughed. "It's really scary, actually. The first time I fainted was onstage a couple years ago, that was humiliating, but quick. This time, I could feel it coming on and everything was kind of blurry around me."

"Wow." She looked thoughtful. "I wonder what it's like to die."

"Taylor!" I gasped. "That's kind of dark."

"I know, but don't you ever wonder?"

"Yeah, I mean, I guess so. Hopefully, I won't find out for awhile though." I smiled.

"No kidding. I can't imagine dying at only seventeen."

Her words hit me hard and I blinked a few times letting them echo though my head. I began to think about all my friends and what it would be like if something happened to them. I don't think I could ever make it with out them, especially Taylor and Troy. I started to picture it in my mind and suddenly, I couldn't stop. Death was such a final word, and the thoughts kept playing out in my head. I could almost feel the pain as I laid there in the dark.

"Gabby?" Taylor poked me. "You still awake?"

"Yeah, but do you want to go to sleep now?" I was surprised to find that I was almost crying and I faked a yawn, even though I was exhausted.

"Okay. Good night, Gabs."

"G'Night Taylor."

She turned over and closed her eyes, silence settling into the room. I didn't move. I stayed as quiet as I could, tears pricking my eyes, and I knew she couldn't hear me, because she would have said something if she did.

Taylor was lucky, she was one of those people who could fall asleep extremely quickly and after about fifteen minutes her breathing got deeper and I knew she was out. I stayed in bed, silently and softly crying, for a couple minutes. The feeling of losing my friends, especially Troy, had become insanely real. Taylor was right beside me, so for some reason, maybe because I could see she was fine, I wasn't as afraid of something happening to her.

I silently slipped out of the room. The hallway was dark but a small ray of light shined into our room and illuminated Taylor's face. The door squeaked a little as I closed it and I shut my eyes, praying I wouldn't wake anyone.

I tiptoed a few steps down the hall and stood outside the room that Troy and Zeke were sharing. Out in the living room I could vaguely hear two male voices and the sound of soda cans being crushed.

A strip of bright light was visible under the door making it clear that the boys were still awake, I'm not sure if this made me feel better or more embarrassed but I put my hand on the doorknob and turned it counter-clockwise.

"Gabby?" Troy shot up. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

For some reason, seeing him worried made me cry. I nodded though, and he stood up to come closer.

"Um, I think I'll just bunk with Jason and Chad tonight, guys, so you can have some privacy." I looked at Zeke surprised, almost as if I had forgotten he was in the room. He grabbed his pillow and checkered comforter and told me that everything would be okay as it dragged on the floor behind him. When I thanked him, he gave me a big bear hug. There were few boys like Zeke, I was pretty lucky.

When the door shut behind him, Troy engulfed me in his arms. "What's wrong? Did you faint again, Gabby?"

"Just don't let go, okay?"

"Yeah, Gabs, okay. Of course."

Feeling him holding me only reminded me how much it would hurt to lose him. We didn't let go of each other for a long time.

Finally, my crying subsided to teary eyes and I wiped them with the back of my hand. The gray 'Kilmarnick Regional Basketball Tournament 2006' t-shirt Troy wore was now damp with salty tears below his left shoulder. The room was quiet except for my sniffling and the soft buzz of the fan in the corner. Outside, a couple crickets chirped and a slight breeze blew the leaves of the trees.

The ruffled covers of Troy's bed were falling to the side and his pillow was vertical, the way he always slept with it. He motioned to it and climbed in first, then pulled the covers up until they settled onto my waist. The single bed was a tight squeeze for two people and when I put my head down on his pillow, which he had turned horizontal for me, his face was only a few inches from mine. Soft blue eyes scanned my face and he brought his hand up to wipe my wet cheeks. I wiggled down a bit until my head was at his shoulder and I put my face against his chest, where a damp spot still appeared.

"Gabby," He had a way of speaking softly, like a parent talks when comforting a child. "You're kind of freaking me out. What's wrong?"

I shook my head but didn't say a word. Troy was always the one who wanted to talk, the one who always found a plan to work things out. I was the emotional one, I tried to avoid drama and found it easier to opt for silence when things got complicated.

He seemed not sure of what to say. "Do you want me to turn out the light?"

"Okay." I answered quietly. He reached over me to the lamp and suddenly the room went completely dark. His arm rested on my side, his hand holding my waist. Suddenly, I realized how intimate this was and how nice it felt.

"You know, I'm not sure why you're upset and I'm sorry you are, but…I like having you here." Sometimes Troy knew exactly what to say, and I took a deep breath, taking in his presence so I would never forget this moment.

"I love you." He spoke so quietly, I almost didn't hear him.

"More than basketball?" I whispered back.

He planted kisses on the top of my head. "Of course."

"More than turkey and mustard sandwiches?" I grinned, this was our routine.

"Definitely."

"More than your Jeep?"

"Oh yeah."

"More than…'Guitar Hero'?"

"No question."

"Well then, I think I love you too."

I opened my eyes to unfamiliar surroundings and for a second, wondered where I was. Zeke's open suitcase spilled onto the floor and a silver iPod was charging in the wall. When I realized that I was waking up on a different side of the bed than I had fallen asleep on, I sprang up and looked around. In doing this, Troy's arm slid from my waist and hit the bed. He opened his eyes as he was jolted awake.

"Hi." I looked down at him, his brown hair ruffled and gorgeously out of place.

"Hi." He looked from my side to his. "How did we-?"

"Not a clue." I shook my head.

"Okay then. Good morning." He smiled. We had woken up spooning but I lay back down on his chest, moving my body to be completely on top of his. I couldn't guarantee fresh breath for either of us this early in the day.

I yawned. "Morning. What time is it?" This was the first time I'd ever fallen asleep and woken up next to him, just him. And laying together in his bed, I liked how precious the moment was. He chest rose and fell underneath me and I could vaguely hear the rhythmic beat of his heart.

"Um…" he twisted his neck to check his cell phone. "Holy crap! It's only eight-thirty!"

"What? Are you serious?" I grabbed his phone and looked for myself. Sure enough, it was eight-thirty, about two hours before we usually woke up.

"Geez," I handed the phone back. "No wonder I'm still half-asleep."

"No kidding." He closed his eyes, and I followed in his great idea. Our feet were tangled together under the covers and he was lightly moving his toe against mine. Five minutes passed before anyone spoke, and when he did, it was the exact words I had been expecting.

"So…" I opened my eyes to see his were open too, and looking down at me. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"You mean my spontaneous crying fit?"

"Unless there's something else you want to talk about."

Sighing I reached up and rested my hands on his shoulders. "Looking back, it was pretty stupid."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Brie."

"I just…I was just tired and emotional. Yesterday with the fainting, then Taylor and I were talking about dying…and I don't know, I was really exhausted and it kind of set me off."

"I'd appreciate if you didn't die anytime soon."

I laughed, which made him smile and his eyes twinkle. "Trust me, I'm not going anywhere."

"Well," He took my hand and kissed my palm. "I know you're not fully awake, but since we're both up, and this bed is kind of small, and we have this time all to ourselves…how about going outside with me?"

I had to smile. "That sounds good."

Troy stood outside my door, now wearing his blue sweatshirt over the clothes he slept in. I had snuck back into my room to grab my own sweatshirt and he took my hand as I left and closed the door behind me. I was surprised, but also slightly relieved, that neither of Chad's parents were awake. I wasn't dying to see their reaction when Troy and I walked out of the same bedroom. We walked quietly passed Zeke, Chad and Jason who were sleeping amongst numerous crushed soda cans and bag of 'Cheezie-Puffz'.

The morning air felt good but cool as we stepped outside, I was glad I had my sweatshirt.

"Dock?" Troy asked. Our hands were swinging together between us.

"Okay." I closed my eyes and smiled as we made out way down to the lake.

We sat on the very end of the dock, looking out for ripples in the water. I was having trouble keeping my eyes open but Troy loved to point things out to me, I think he would make a good teacher if he wanted to be. The 'new day' feeling was present in the air, and the whole world seemed quiet and still.

Troy found a pebble on the dock and skipped it across the water. "Important question."

"Hit me." I yawned.

"Do you think those guys really drank all that Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke?"

* * *

A/N: Well, whatdja think? I know it seems like Gabriella's reaction to her conversation with Taylor was a bit over the top, but remember that she had a pretty tough day and she's a sensitive girl. And yes, that can be exactly what it's like to faint. Take it from someone with more than enough experience ;) And yes, I am going somewhere with this story...but like I said, it's just about her summer so it's not all drama.

-Sparks-


	6. Chapter 6

Hello my lovelies! I know this is said about every day, but I really am sorry for not updating. I just started my junior year of high school, so needless to say I'm still trying to adjust. Anyway, I hope this was worth the wait. Enjoy!

♥

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Sorry.

* * *

My suitcase hit the hardwood floor with a padded "thud". It had a purple stain on the front from Zeke's grape juice incident at breakfast, and after stuffing all my clothes in without bothering to fold anything it was looking a little tired. 

"Hello room. Hello bed." I flopped down onto my comforter and didn't move for a good minute. A traffic jam on the interstate had prolonged the drive home to long after dusk. It wasn't until about an hour ago, when the only noise in the car was the hum of sleepy conversation and the light drizzle of evening rain, did I realize how exhausted I was almost falling asleep on top of Troy.

I yawned and finally pulled myself up from my bed, my only motivation being the thought of the hot shower awaiting me, and searched through my suitcase for my toiletries. Half a dozen bug bites decorated my arms and legs and the cuts on my foot, my battle wounds as Troy called them, were still red and sore.

Hearing footsteps in the hallway and I looked up to see my mom standing in my doorway. "I'm glad you had such a good trip, Gabby."

"Yeah, I did, mom. Thanks."

"You have fun with Taylor?"

"Yup."

"And…with Troy?" Her tone of voice changed slightly and I almost blushed at the way she was looking at me.

My mouth opened a second before I could get any words out and I tried not to rush out an answer. "Uh yeah mom, we had a great time."

"That's wonderful." The way she spoke almost hinted that she was disappointed I hadn't told her anything else. "Good night sweetheart."

Even after she left I sat still, almost in shock, wondering just what she had been implying with her question.

&&&

The rain from yesterday made the ground wet the next morning, but it was a sunny cloudless day in Albuquerque when I pushed open one of the large glass doors to the William J. Charter Library and stepped inside. I got a giddy chill down my spine and instantly headed through familiar book shelves to the Young Adult section. Standing in front of the rows and rows of books I grinned like and idiot and dropped my bag onto the ground, already spotting five books I was dying to look at.

Forty minutes later I sat on the floor, leaning against the Ja-Je authors with a pile of about twelve books beside me, flipping though something called 'Swinging Lila' when my cell phone vibrated.

"Hey." It was Troy. I could hear his iHome playing Jimmy Eat World in the background. "You wanna do something this morning? I want to see you."

"Well, I'm at the library right now. How about this afternoon?" I spoke quietly, hoping nobody would come glare at me for using my cell phone in the library.

"The library in Leesburg? I have to drop off some forms at Raleigh, so I can swing by."

Starting Monday Troy was working for Raleigh Landscaping, a company owned by one of Jack's friends from college and the offices were about a minute from the library.

"Um," I searched for a way to say no without sounding rude, I liked going to the library by myself and spending as long as I wanted sitting amongst the shelves. "I'm not done here yet, so you'd have to sit around and do nothing."

"I'll just stop by to say hi, there's something I want to ask you anyway."

"Alright." I put on a cheery tone. Why he couldn't wait an hour was beyond me but sometimes it was easier to just agree with him than try to understand his stubbornness.

"I'll see you in twenty minutes, okay? I love you."

"Okay." I answered only half paying attention as I began to read the back of another book from the shelf behind me. There was a second of silence before I caught my mistake. "I mean, I love you too."

Oops.

&&&

"Once upon a time there was a boy named King Troy who lived in a far away place called New Mexico." Startled by the break in silence I looked up to see Troy sitting down beside me, stretching his legs out across the carpet. "Good book?"

"Don't know yet." I checked the page number in the book and put it down on the floor. He leaned over to kiss me, before reading off the title. "'Through Broken Glass'? Sounds intense."

"It's about a girl who grows up with a schizophrenic mother."

"Geez." He shook his head and there was a minute of silence. "So anyway," he looked up at me. "My parents have decided that for their twentieth anniversary this summer they want to renew their wedding vows. They're having this party, kind of like another wedding the beginning of August."

"Really?" I smiled. "That's so sweet, twenty years is a long time."

"Yeah, well, my parents want you to come, a lot of group is invited actually, but I wanted to know if you would come as my date." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I mean, you don't have to, since you're invited anyway, but I thought it might be more fun that way."

"As your date, huh?" I grinned.

"I know it sounds kind of-"

"Troy." I stopped him. "I would love to go with you."

"Yeah?" His whole face changed and he smiled.

"Yeah. I kinda like you, so why not?" I teased.

He leaned down to kiss me. "You're just so funny, aren't you?"

"I like to think so."

&&&

When I got home from the library, with the nine books I decided to check out, I debated with myself for a few minutes whether or not to call Sharpay. Finally, I decided I would and she picked up after only the first ring.

"Gabby! Hi!"

"Hi Sharpay. How's the beach?"

"Incredible. I'm here right now actually. It's finally not too hot today so Ry and I are out here, not melting for once. "She laughed. "How was the lake?"

I started from the beginning and told her everything. She laughed when I told about Troy jumping into the water with me on his back and "awed" at the heart I'd drawn on Troy. Finally, I brought up the one part of the trip I hadn't mentioned.

"You know, Shar. We really wished you had been there. Especially Zeke." I bit my lip, knowing I was going into deep water.

"Doubt it." She huffed. "He's probably to mad at me to care at all. I assume you know what happened?"

"Well…yeah, he told me. But Sharpay, he's not mad at all. He's just really upset."

"That's not my fault." Well, yes it is. "He shouldn't have slept with me if he didn't want to get hurt. He knows I don't want to be with him."

"Shar-"

"What Gabby?" She sounded fed up. "What am I supposed to say to that?"

"I don't know." I sighed. "But…"

"But what?" Sharpay did not like to be told what to do.

"You're gonna have to tell him that you really don't want to be with him."

"Gab-"

"No, I'm serious Sharpay. You keep leading him on and it won't be long before he really does stop caring and you'll have lost a really great guy who would do anything for you."

She didn't say anything.

"Look," I sighed. "I don't know why you don't want to be with him. But I do know that you have somebody here who is completely infatuated with you and would kill to be with you, and you just keep hurting him. So if you really don't want to be with him, then you need to end it as soon as possible."

"I have to go Gabriella. Bye."

The phone beeped, she had hung up on me.

&&&

That evening I stood in the Bolton's kitchen doing the dinner dishes with Troy, he rinsed and I loaded them into the dishwasher. His parents were very set on having their boys help out with chores. Even Chase had the job of wiping down the table. I watched him stand on his tip-toes, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in determination as he sprayed the table and reached over as far as he could to wipe it clean.

"Hey kid." Troy always called his brother 'kid' or something of the sort. "Pull your pants up."

"No." Chase's pants hung halfway down his bottom. He didn't even look at Troy as he walked around the table and tried not to drop the spray bottle from his little hands.

"Chase, seriously. They're about to fall down."

"I don't care."

I stifled a laugh watching Chase, balancing himself by grasping the edge of the table, washcloth in hand, completely disregard his brother. However stubborn Troy could get, his brothers could be just as bad.

"You're such a weirdo." Troy shook his head and picked up another plate.

"Troy, don't call your brother a weirdo." Jack walked in, he always walked tall, it was something that used to intimidate me.

"Dad, look at his pants! He won't pull them up!"

Suddenly Jack laughed, scooped Chase up by his belt loops and threw him over his shoulder. "You know why he's doing this, right?"

Troy shrugged, annoyed. So Jack began to tickle his youngest, who had now dropped the so carefully held cleaning materials onto the kitchen floor. "Chasey," Chase had a contagious, bubbly laugh. "Who else in this house wears their pants too low?"

The kid squirmed and kicked his little feet as he laughed. "Troy and Alec." Chase was still learning to pronounce his 'r's but he always got Troy's name almost spot on.

"See." Chase was plopped onto the kitchen counter, something I doubt the boys did in front of their mom. "He just wants to be like you. Think about _that_ next time you call him a weirdo." Jack gave Chase a high-five and winked. Chase tried to copy him by scrunching up his entire face and closing one eye.

"Weirdo." Troy mumbled under his breath, but he nudged me playfully when I laughed.

"Just say good-bye to your brother and get to your movie." Chase jumped onto Jack's back and Jack swung him around to face us.

"Bye Chasey."

"Bye Troy."

"I'll bring you back some popcorn, okay Superman?"

"Okay."

He was almost out the door when Troy yelled out. "Aren't you going to say good-bye to your girlfriend?"

"Bye Gabiella!" His voice called from the hallway.

"Bye Chase." I wondered if this is what my life would be like if I lived with my sister. A part of me always wished to have a life like Troy's. He had a big, crazy family and no idea how lucky he was.

&&&

The movie had been good, not great. Afterwards we parked a minute from my house, next to the elementary school. Within seconds I was on his lap, straddling his waist as we kissed.

"Hey Troy?"

"Hmm?" His lips moved from my mouth to my neck.

"Do you think Zeke and Sharpay will ever figure their whole mess out?"

He shrugged and mumbled something along the lines of 'I don't' know' before shifting his hands from my waist slowly down to my thighs, running his thumbs against the denim of my jeans.

"I hope they do. You know, I think she does want to be with him, she's just needs to learn how commit to it."

"Uh-huh." Farther and farther down he kissed until he reached my collarbone.

"Maybe she just- "

Suddenly, he groaned and leaned back until his head hit the seat. "And apparently, we're talking now."

"Troy, come on."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Exactly, I'm trying to talk to you and you're not interested at all."

"Well, I didn't exactly park five minutes from your house so we could talk."

"I'm not just your fuck-buddy, you know." I don't know which one of us was more surprised when those words came out of my mouth. "I mean…I'm sorry. That was harsh. I didn't mean that."

"You know what? I think we're just having an off day. How about I take you home before we put ourselves into our own mess?"

"That's probably a good idea." I shifted myself back into the passenger seat as he turned the ignition. We drove in silence for a minute, he had one hand on the wheel and I wondered if the other one was supposed to be in mine.

"I don't think of you that way, you know. As a fuck-buddy, I mean. Not even close, I never have."

"I know, I…I don't know, it just came out. I know you don't."

"And I love you." His smile was so playful and genuine, so easy to catch that I smiled back.

"I know. At least, that's the rumor going around these days."

* * *

Hope you all liked that. I put in the little bits of Troyella drama to show that, yes, believe it or not they are a real couple! And they do have little fights and quirks that tick each other off. I want them to be realistic, so if you're wondering why it didn't get perfectly resolved or escalate into a fight, well….that's just not as real, to me anyways. 

Also, I've got a reason behind Chase's nickname (Superman). Hopefully, I'll be able to tie that in somewhere later.

And yes, you will get to see the other Wildcats! LOL. We just to wait for them to come home.

I hope you all got what Miss Montez was implying when she was talking to Gabby. And that issue will come up later, in a really big way…but that's all I'm saying for now ;)

Lastly, (geez, this is a long author's note!) Please, please review. Thirty seconds of your time makes my whole week better.

Love you all! And thanks to my beautiful best friend Katie hugs

Sparks

xoxoxo


	7. Chapter 7

Raise your hand if you have an updating problem! Yup, that would be me. Sometimes the muse just isn't there, sorry guys, unfortuneatley darn school has to come first. I'm always thinking about this, if that's any better.

I do have do one little thing though. I realized that having Chase be four years old was not exactly what I wanted. So I'm changing his age to six. I hope you don't mind, it won't really change a lot of things, he'll just get to interact with everyone else more.

Also, thanks for the incredible reviews you guys leave! I love when I read them and it's obvious you put real thought into them and you like the story. That really means a lot. Shout-out to **kathyt222**. I thanked her for her review and she said that she likes to **pass it forward. **Isn't that the best idea?! If you want thoughtful reviews, then leave thoughtful reviews! You'd be surprised at the effect you can have.

Read & review!

* * *

Disclaimer: It's obviously not mine.

* * *

June turned into July and with it came the worst heat wave Albuquerque had seen in almost nine years. The temperatures had hit over one hundred degrees every day the past week, so my afternoons had been spent at Zeke's pool, with whoever else could come by.

Kelsi, who had gotten home yesterday, sat on the pool's edge next to me, a plate of baked goods between us. Zeke had been baking up a storm since school got out, he said he loved the free time he finally had, I wondered though, if it had to do with keeping Sharpay off his mind.

"Mmmm, Zeke." I savored a chunk of a cinnamon-chocolate-swirl cookie. "You're gonna have these out tomorrow, right?"

Tomorrow, Independence Day, was Park Ridge, New Mexico's Fourth of July Festival. People from all over the area come to Park Ridge to be there. In the evening the Baylors, who along with Troy actually lived in Park Ridge, were hosting a fireworks-watching party.

"Of course, I have about four batches of them already baked inside."

"And a whole one of those batches is reserved for…?" I raised an eyebrow and he pretended to be deep in thought.

"Some girl named Gabby Montez, I think."

"That's what I thought."

&&&

The afternoon broke up a little after three when Taylor, my ride home, had to get ready for a dinner at her grandparent's. My house was empty, as it is every week day from seven to at least five. I sat on the living room couch, still in my swim suit, devouring the first chapter to 'Messy Control'. After sitting in complete silence for almost an hour I jumped a mile when someone knocked on our front door.

"Hey, you." Troy's hair was damp and he wore a white t-shirt, slightly see through on the shoulders where water had dripped down and seeped into the cotton.

"Hi." He kissed me quickly and smiled, lightly shaking his head to get a strand out of hair out of his eyes.

"How was work?" After just a week of landscaping with Raleigh, his skin had significantly tanned and light blonde streaks were becoming more noticeable in his hair.

He shrugged, walking into the kitchen beside me. "Good. Would have rather been at the pool though. With you." His body stepped so close to mine and he nodded, motioning for me to sit on the counter behind me.

I did and he stood between my legs, hands resting on my thighs. "You know what, Gabriella?" His skin was smooth from his shower; I could feel it as I touched each of the freckles down his arm.

"What?"

"I'm gonna have a really big phone bill when you go to Brown."

I smiled sadly at his contemplative expression. The longest we had been apart was for four days over spring vacation. In a week, I started a summer studies program at Brown University that would have me away from home for eight days. I was beyond excited, the thought of being independent stopped scaring me as much this year and I was so ready for this. But when he looked at me, blue eyes turned soft and almost vulnerable looking, with his fingers dancing so lightly on my bare leg I knew I'd miss him too.

"We still have a whole week and a half, Troy."

"I know." And then he was kissing me quickly again and again, until he finally gave in and kissed me long and slow. I could smell the scent of Dove soap on his skin, the 'Summer Rain' shampoo in his damp hair and the cologne I'd gotten to know so well and could always vaguely smell on myself after we'd been together.

Deeper and deeper his kissed me, his right hand traveling father up until suddenly his thumb ran over the thin piece of nylon cloth between my legs. I tensed up only the slightest bit as his fingers slowly slipped into my bathing suit.

He pulled his lips back for a second to whisper. "Just relax."

I couldn't find any words, so I nodded, almost barely though, and held his head as he kissed under my jaw, his fingers going further and further.

&&&

To say that the next day was hot is an understatement. When I met up with Taylor at the center of Park Ridge, it was only a little past ten but already I'd tied my hair up and sweat stuck to my skin, especially around the red, white and blue plastic beads someone at the Park Ride Elementary School booth had handed me when I arrived.

The festival was focused in the middle of the town, where all kinds of food and game booths were set up around the grassy square. Park Ridge was not a huge town, but it was beautiful. It boasted some of Albuquerque's oldest buildings and an incredible white gazebo sat across from the old brick post office.

Within minutes Taylor and I had been joined by Troy, Jason and Kelsi. Zeke was at the main food booth helping grill hotdogs and hamburgers until noon. Troy had brought along Chase. His parents were working as well and Troy was in charge of his brother until his dad finished at that same food booth at eleven.

"Cool beads Chase. I have the same ones."

Chase grabbed the beads around his neck with his little fingers as he swung one foot in the grass. "Ana gave them to me. She's my friend."

"She's his girlfriend." Troy said playfully. "Right, Superman?"

"No."

"Well, she is." He whispered to me as Chase shook his head and debated with an "Uh-uh."

We walked through the festival until Taylor found the booth giving away ice cold water bottles and Chase spotted the face-painting table right next to it.

"Please, please, please, please, please Troy." Chase folded his hands and begged to Troy. "Sure, but you have to get 'Troy is the wickedest brother ever' on your forehead."

"No!" Chase laughed and Troy pretended to take back his offer. "Fine, guess not then."

"Yes, then." Chase informed him and he walked right over to the vacant stool and told the woman exactly what he wanted.

"Little punk." Troy laughed under his breath.

True to his nickname, Chase ended up getting the 'Superman' logo on his cheek. I even got a butterfly on mine and tried to convince Troy that he needed some kind of face painting, but he stubbornly refused.

Afterwards, Chad showed up and challenged Jason in a three out of five game of darts. As we stood watching, the sun beat down on us hard. To my left I felt someone's fingers touch mine and then hold my hand. I wondered if Troy was thinking about yesterday and what had happened in my kitchen. When he squeezed my hand and looked at me smiling I knew he was. I blushed, smiled back then pretended to be really interested in Chad and Jason's game.

Jason creamed Chad by winning all five games, and Chase was picked up by his Jack, who promised him ice-cream as long as he didn't tell his mom.

&&&

By mid-afternoon I was feeling awful. I'd eat a hotdog, ice-cream and half a funnel cake. Then somehow I'd been convinced to share popcorn with Taylor after lunch and the heat had really taken its toll. I almost shoved Troy when he poked me in the stomach. I was sitting on a hay bail between him and Kelsi. The rest of the group sitting around, just hanging out.

"Don't Troy." I whined, pushing his hand away.

"Are you okay?"

"No."

"Are you going to faint?"

"No. It's my stomach. I just feel really sick."

"You want to go home? Or I could take you to my house for a little while. You know, get inside the air conditioning."

"Okay." I nodded.

"Do you want us to come?" Taylor asked.

"It's okay," I shook my head. "You guys stay here. I'm just going to get some Sprite or something."

She nodded, and I wondered if she wanted to come. To be honest, I didn't really want anyone too but it made me think of when I got hurt at the lake and how I'd stayed with Troy instead of her.

"Feel better Gabby!" Jason shouted after me.

&&&

Stepping into Troy's house was a relief. It was empty and quiet, and the air conditioning was on. He got me a glass of Sprite with ice, and I sipped it slowly. In his parent's bathroom he knelt beside the sink and sorted through bottles until he found the pink one labeled 'Pepto-Bismol'.

"I could sing the jingle, maybe that would help." He joked as he handed me the bottle and I laughed.

"No thanks. I don't need to hear the song."

"Are you sure? I'm pretty good."

Suddenly, I realized I was about to throw up.

"Woah." Troy rushed over to me. He pulled strands of hair away from my face and tucked them behind my ears as I bent over the toilet, getting sick.

I only threw up once and he handed me a wet towel afterwards. Then he sat beside me on the bathroom tile and rubbed my back.

"Oh my God." I leaned my head back on the wall. "You just saw me throw up."

He laughed, although it was not funny to me. "Yeah, I did."

"You saw me throw up." I sighed. "You saw me throw up!" Closing my eyes didn't make it any better. "I think I'm a magnet for humiliation."

He laughed again. "No. Prone to humiliation, maybe. But not a magnet. And probably prone to injury too."

"Thanks. That makes me feel tons better."

"It's okay, Brie." His hand went under the back of my shirt and his skin felt cool against mine, despite that he had just been outside in the heat and I could see little beads of sweat around his hairline.

"If you don't ever want to kiss me again, I totally don't blame you."

I actually smiled when he laughed at that. "Trust me, that's not going to happen. I mean, I can't say it's the most attractive thing I've ever seen…."

I groaned.

"You'll be fine."

"Can we pretend this never happened?"

"Absolutely. I saw no throw up, I heard no throw, I know no throw up."

I laughed and nudged him. "Oh, shut up."

&&&

That evening, by the time the sun went down there were almost sixty people at the Baylor's house. I'd watched with jealousy as everyone ate hotdogs and hamburgers off the grill then gushed about Zeke's desserts. I still couldn't think of stomaching any food so Zeke saved me one of everything he'd made for me to eat when I felt better. We were in the kitchen and he was putting the lid on the plastic container when his cell phone started ringing in his pants pocket. His face remained empty of expression as he ignored the call and stuffed the phone back into his pants.

"It was Sharpay." He said it bluntly, but with a tone of annoyance.

"You didn't have to tell me that, Zeke. It's okay."

"I just don't want to talk to her right now." He didn't seem to acknowledge my comment. "I've actually decided that..." He took a deep breath and looked me in the eye. "That I don't want to play this game anyone and I'm done."

"Wow, Zeke. That's…" I was at a loss of words. Especially after my conversation with Sharpay just days before.

He handed me the Tupperware container. "I'm done. I'm just…done."

&&&

Zeke's decision made it hard for me to focus on anything else when we got back outside. Before everyone had arrived, Elise Baylor had us lay out blankets all over the yard and now I sat on a blue, chenille one beside Taylor and in front of Troy and Jason.

But suddenly the sky exploded with color and I heard everyone gasp. Taylor squeezed my arm as red and blue sparks illuminated the party. I felt myself grinning and huddling up next to her. It was great to have a best friend. It was great to have a group of them too. If only we could get rid of the drama.

* * *

Oooh, Troy and Gabby are heating it up! ;) I do have to happily announce though, that starting next chapter Gabriella will be getting some drama of her own. And it will last for awhile, but that's all I'm saying. And also, Mr. Montez and Laina come next chapter, yay! I already have the new baby's name picked out, but it's a secret until she's born, because I'm mean like that.

Super-duper thanks to the lovely **Katie**. I have no idea why she puts up with my 593739202 e-mails and questions everyday, but I'm sure glad she does 3 By the way, she's writing a new story so go check it out from the link in my profile!

Thanks guys! I love you all and I'd **_love_** to know what you think. Give me any opinion you have, really, I want to know! I actually need constructive criticism, so don't hold back ;)

Sparks.

PS. Do you think Zeke and Sharpay will actually get together, or is this the end? ;)


	8. Chapter 8

Hello lovelies.

I know it's been a couple weeks since I posted so here is a little update: Last chapter was the Fourth of July. Gabriella (who IS NOT PREGNANT, and is still a virgin - they did not have sex that afternoon at her house) got sick but Knight Troy was there for her, of course :) Also, Zeke decided he was finished trying to be with Sharpay, which caught Gabriella a little off-guard, especially since she talked to Sharpay a couple days before and made her angry by telling her to make up her mind about Zeke. In this chapter is the visit of Mr. Montez and Gabriella's half-sister Laina :)

Read & Review!

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Laina adored Taylor from the second she met her. Which was no surprise, of course, because Taylor was great with kids and Laina was extremely friendly with everyone she met. My dad was also outgoing and made friends with everyone he met. We could be complete opposites sometimes. My dad was a lot like Troy, actually. 

Taylor, Laina and I were sitting on the couch with Laina's tiny 'Dora the Explorer' back-pack of toys.

"Nana," Laina began as she held up a baby doll to Taylor. "Nana, gave me this baby for Christmas."

Taylor 'ooohed' over the doll as Laina continued taking everything else out of her backpack. Behind me, I could see my mom and dad in the kitchen. They were talking and every so often one of them would laugh at something the other said. My parents had been divorced for years and rarely saw each other, especially now that I didn't live in California anymore. They had remained friends after they spilt up and would talk on the phone whenever he called. She even still called him "Jay", short for Jacob, just like she always has.

"Gabby, you get this baby." A blue-eyed, cloth-bodied doll was placed into my hands. "Aw, what's her name?" I asked.

"Daisy." My sister wiped a strand of hair from her eyes. She had brown hair to her shoulders, it was thinner than mine and much curlier. She had a pink barrette on one side, a plastic strawberry.

My dad walked into the living room with his hands in the air. "So when do I get to meet the famous Troy?" He smiled. My dad was a tall guy with very dark curly hair and tan skin. He loved to make people laugh and had a booming voice.

Taylor gave me a sneaky smile. "You'll like him Mr. Montez."

&&&

After Taylor went home I took Laina to the Marsten's house. They were a really nice family down the street whom I babysat for, and right now they were on vacation at Lake Tahoe for two weeks. When I told them about my sister visiting they told me to use their backyard swing set whenever I wanted. Laina had the best time.

She seemed so much older and more talkative since I'd seen her last. She loved to talk about day care and how Kathy was about to have a baby. She held my hand as we walked home, telling me all about her toy puppy named 'Robby'.

When we got to the front steps she got onto my back and we walked inside. But before I even stepped all the way into the entrance we almost bumped into my dad, who I'm sure from his suit and tie that he had just gotten home from his meeting. He was talking to someone.

"Who's that?" Laina pointed a finger at the boy talking animatedly to our dad. He gave her a big smile and put his hands into his pockets.

"Hi," he told her. "I'm Troy."

I don't know if I was more surprised that Troy was with my dad or the fact that I'd forgotten he needed to pick up a summer reading book. But most likely it was the black and blue bruise under his right eye.

&&&

"What happened to your eye?" I gasped. We stood in the foyer while my dad took my sister to the bathroom.

"Um, it was just an accident. It's okay, it doesn't really hurt."

"What kind of accident?" It looked painful being so big and dark. I could make out the outline of a cut on his cheekbone. By reflex I reached to touch it, but retracted my hand when I realized how sore it must be.

"Just an accident." He shrugged. "It happens."

"What kind of accident?" I repeated. He was being so vague.

"Someone accidentally hit me, no big deal. Really."

"Troy, did someone one beat - ?"

"No. I said it was an accident, Gabby." He pushed hair from his face and exhaled, visibly annoyed with me. Troy hated when people thought he was weak.

"Sorry." I whispered. "But I think I have the right to know what happened to you."

"I already told you, someone accidentally hit me. Can we just drop this, please?"

I looked at him for a second, he had a tendency to be stubborn and when he got started with something, he couldn't stop.

"Look Troy, I trust you. I really do, and I know you're always honest with me, but…why can't you tell me?"

His jaw was clenched, a give away that he was upset, and he was looking at the wall. When he finally turned to me, he sighed. "Fine." I waited. "I got into a fight with Casey. Last night. It's no big deal."

"Casey Rodenbough?" I hadn't even known he was out last night, he didn't mention it to me. But Troy had always found Casey annoying, like most people, even though he was considered popular. Casey was obnoxious and loud.

He nodded and I couldn't help but cringe at the bruise.

"Why did you get into a fight with him?"

Troy shrugged and I felt my patience going. In the background I could hear footsteps travel into the kitchen.

"Shrugging is not an answer, Troy." I tried to keep my voice low, my parents are sister were in the kitchen and I could hear the hum of their voices.

"It was just a fight. I dunno, he was just…just really pissing me off."

I wanted to groan and ask him why he had to do something like that and be so ridiculously temperamental sometimes.

"Troy…"

"What? What do you want me to do?" He raised his eyebrows and bit the skin beside his thumb. "He was being a frickin' asshole."

I couldn't believe how angry this made me. He hadn't said anything about going out last night, obviously he had been drinking if he was a party and now he stood in my house with a black eye from some ridiculous fight. Silence swept over us, the usual occurrence when there was something wrong. Finally, I called out to my mom that I was walking with Troy to his car and I'd be back in a minute.

"Nice to meet you Troy." My dad stepped into view at the kitchen door and waved. "Make sure you put some ice on that eye, footballs can leave a nasty bruise."

"Thanks Mr. Montez, I will. Nice to meet you too." Managing to hide his annoyance with me relatively well, he smiled back and walked past me out the door.

"Football?" I asked when the door was closed behind us. It was a gorgeous outside but the sun just seemed to give me a headache.

"You wanted me to tell the truth?" It was spat out sarcastically, and I realized that this was the first time I'd ever been really, truly mad at him.

When I didn't respond he stood there, clenching his jaw. "Fine." It was his way of being done with the conversation, and he got into his car, turned on the ignition, and drove away.

&&&

I was struggling to forget the fight and concentrate on being with my dad and Laina when we got another house visitor.

Zeke.

"Hey!" Zeke was one of the happiest people I know, nothing much got to him, and he was grinning as he stood in my doorway.

"Hi Zeke. What's up? Want to come in?"

"That's okay. I'm going to the Arrington Center to pick up some forms for a culinary program, I really hope I get in!" He was still grinning and I noticed a kitchen container in his hands.

"You're an amazing chef Zeke, if you don't get in than they're crazy."

"Thanks Gabby." I knew he meant it. "Oh, um, I brought these for you." When he held out the box I took it and opened it with a raised eyebrow.

"Cinnamon Angels. They're a new recipe I found. I wanted to make you something to thank you."

"Thank me?"

"Yeah, for the thing with Sharpay."

"Excuse me?" I wasn't sure if I had heard him right, I sort of hoped I hadn't.

"You really helped me realize that I need to let go of her and I'm so glad you did. So, thank you."

I stood speechless for a second. Zeke seemed so happy and a part of me knew that Sharpay had put him through a lot, and it had definitely been tough on his heart and his ego. Sharpay seemed to have finished with him weeks ago, but this wasn't my game to end.

The silence was interrupted by my dad. He had waltzed in to find out who was at the door.

"Dad, this is my friend Zeke."

"Hi Zeke." My dad shook his hand and I wasn't surprised when Zeke returned his strong grip.

"I'm Jacob Montez."

"It's nice to finally meet you Mr. Montez. I know Gabby is really happy you're here."

This made my dad happy and he shot me a smile. "Would you like to come in Zeke? The girls made lemonade."

"Alright. Thanks Mr. Montez."

When I followed them into the kitchen I wondered, between the thing with Troy and now the thing with Zeke, what I had gotten myself into.

&&&

The next morning was awful. I don't know if it was the fight with Troy, or having to say good-bye to my dad and Laina for what seemed like the hundredth time too many in my life, but when I stood outside airport security at Donovan-Vice International Airport I had to blink back tears. My dad wrapped me up in his arms and hugged me so tightly, I realized that he hated this as much as I did.

"I love you, sweetheart. Don't be such a troublemaker when I go, okay?" My dad lived to tease me and I promised him I would try. My mind went back to the first time we had to say goodbye, the day he moved out. I was only seven years old but it had become one of those memories that I could replay over and over in mind like a movie.

"I love you, dad." I squeezed his shoulders hard before letting go. "I'll see you next month." It felt like a lifetime at that moment.

I gave Laina a big hug. I'd helped her pack up all her toys that morning and now she had them all in her back-pack.

"Say good-bye to sissy, Lain."

"Bye." Laina didn't understand what was going on so she wasn't affected by it, I envied her for that right now.

Mom and I stood in the airport and waved until they were through security and out of sight.

"I know it's hard, honey." My mom put her arm around my shoulder and suddenly I was about to cry.

The fluorescent lights and the distant smell of McDonald's made me sick. I wanted for things to be okay with Troy, I wanted no part in Zeke and Sharpay's drama but mostly, I wanted to be with my dad.

I felt words tumbling out my mouth. "Sometimes I wish everything was different." I had never said those words to my mom before, or to anybody. But when I blurted them out the tears in my eyes proved how true they were.

* * *

Poor Gabriella, life is hard sometimes. I can guarantee though, that thinks will get better (eventually) ;)

Reviews make my day! You all leave such good ones - happy tear -

Thanks, especially to Katie (who I hope had a blast at her dance!)

Sparks  
xoxoxo


	9. Chapter 9

Hello everyone! I'm actually updating relatively soon, so I hope you guys like it.

Someone said they really liked having a review of what's going on at the beginning of the chapter. So I'll try and do that each time. In the last chapter Mr. Montez and three year old Laina were in Alburquerue. Troy showed up at Gabriella's house with a black eye, which created a fight between them when he didn't want to tell her what happened, and then when she found out it was from a fight he got into with a guy he doesn't like. After Troy left, Zeke showed up with cookies, thanking Gabby for showing him that he needed to move on from Sharpay. This freaks her out because she does not want to be involved in someone else's mess. At the end, her dad and sister leave and she admits to her mom that she wishes things could be different.

Enjoy!

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I purposely left my cell phone at home while I was at the airport. When I got back, I had a message.

"Hey, Gabriella. It's me." Troy. And it was the same voice I heard on my balcony in January and every time after that when something was wrong.

"Listen, I know you're mad, and you should be, but the stuff I said yesterday…" There was a silence as he chose his words and when he started again he began all over. "I wasn't drunk at that party, Gabriella. And I wasn't looking for a fight." Another pause, I heard him exhale. "I'm sorry I didn't want to tell you and I'm sorry I had to lie to your dad." I felt bad because I wasn't mad at that, a football lie was a much better idea than the truth. "Anyway…you don't have to call me back, I just wanted to apologize. Okay….bye. Lo- uh….bye."

I'm almost sure he was about to say 'Love you' at the end until he caught himself. It was a genuine apology; he was very good at those. But I didn't want to call him back right away. I dropped my phone on the bed and left it there as I went downstairs.

&&&

When I finally did call him back it was mid-afternoon. My mother was working at home today and a fax she was supposed to receive an hour ago never showed up. As she panicked and made calls to Germany I retreated to my room. He picked up after the third ring.

"Hi." He sounded hesitant, but I could sense he was relieved that I had called him back by the surprised happiness in his voice. I wondered how his eye looked, I cringed picturing it.

"Hi." I wanted him to tell me what happened and why he tried so hard to keep it from me.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't know the fight would bother you so much and I didn't plan it. I swear."

"I know." No one said a word. Outside, a squirrel was running up the trunk on the big tree. It was another hot day, the heat wave hadn't let up but going to the Baylor's pool today with everyone didn't seem like the best idea.

I broke the silence. "You know how sometimes when you first hear something you take it the wrong way and you overreact?"

"Yeah." He sounded hesitant and I knew he was wrinkling his forehead, half confused and half worried. Probably biting the skin around his thumb.

"I think I did that a little bit."

"No, I mean, you were just mad. And you should have been."

"Well, I still am." The words caught us both off-guard. Lately, blurting things out seemed to me my thing. I heard almost complete silence on his end, just the barely audible sound of him exhaling. I sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Well…" He seemed to be looking for an answer. "You never really told me why."

I wasn't sure if I wanted to yell at him for not understanding or give a sigh of relief that we might be getting somewhere. "I'm mad because…" I searched for the words. "I think that getting into a fight with Casey was such a stupid idea. And you wouldn't even admit it to me, which made me feel….not important enough to know." I felt like a whiney girlfriend and I hated it. I never wanted to be that girl.

"That's not what I meant to do."

"Well, what did you mean? You wouldn't tell me anything!" I was desperate, I just wanted him to talk to me and give me real words instead of apologies.

"I – " He sounded lost for words. "I just knew you would be mad…which is exactly what happened."

"I don't know what else to say, Troy." I leaned back against my headboard.

"Well, I don't know to make you stop being mad!" Exasperated, I knew he was throwing his hand into the air or rubbing his face.

"Maybe we should just talk about it tomorrow." Fighting was giving me a headache and it felt like we were going in a circle.

"Maybe we should talk about it today." I inwardly groaned. As much as I hated confrontation, Troy liked talking it out and clearing the air.

"Troy…" I closed my eyes and sighed.

"C'mon, Gabriella. Look, why don't you come over? My mom is at work, my dad took Chase to his speech therapy, and Alec is in his room. Please."

I took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll be there in ten minutes."

&&&

Maggie greeted me at the door. She was the Bolton's chocolate lab who loved attention and her tennis ball. Every night she slept in Troy's room, she had been their dog since he was nine years old.

She panted and stared at me with her big brown eyes as Troy and I stood awkwardly at the door. With Maggie racing over neither one of us had said anything when I'd walked in and now the silence was almost painful. His bruise looked the same to me, only the cut was a little less visible. I can only imagine how his parents had reacted.

"Um, come on in." Troy pulled Maggie away by the collar and motioned for me to enter. I loved the Bolton's house. Almost every wall and surface was covered with pictures of the family, especially the boys. I liked that, it made me feel like I knew more about all the things in his life I wasn't here for. First day of kindergarten, a trip to the pumpkin patch, Troy and Alec with an infant Chase all watching a movie, Christmases, vacations, silly faces and posed pictures. His whole life was in this house.

In the kitchen there were cereal bowls and glasses in the sink. A pile of magazines, motor cross and sports ones, sat on the counter next to silver GameBoy, which I knew belonged to Chase.

"So, listen." He pushed the magazines and GameBoy to the other side of the island. "I know I screwed up and I know you're mad. But, I don't think there's anyway to fix something like this, I can't change anything that already happened."

He was right. He had apologized but there was nothing else he could do. It was something I could choose to be angry about or I could just forget about it.

"Can you at least tell me why you started the fight?"

For a second he didn't respond at all. Then he started biting his thumb again. "I told you, he was pissing me off. Being a real jerk."

"To you?"

"No." He answered almost as the last syllable came out of my mouth. "I mean, yes. I mean…we were standing in a group and I just couldn't take him anymore." At this point he had his eyes fixed on a picture on the refrigerator, although I knew he just didn't want to look at me.

"So, you started a fight with a really awful guy, who you've always hated, because he was making you mad by being obnoxious at some party?"

He looked back at me and exhaled. I don't know what I wanted him to say, but I waited for him to say anything.

"Yeah." He nodded. "I did."

And there was my answer. I was disappointed. I knew it and he knew it, but it had happened and I couldn't change it.

"Okay." Now we had to move on. "Let's just forget about it then." I put on a smile and realized that I did actually feel a little better.

"You want some ice cream?" He was already up and opening the freezer. "We have cookie dough." He grinned playfully and pulled it out.

"Sure. I'd love some."

&&&

But the next fight started as soon as the first had. Troy swallowed a spoonful of ice cream and looked at me, a bit pensive.

"You know what's weird?" He asked.

"What?"

"This time next year, we'll be getting ready for college." And with those words my stomach tensed up and my whole face fell.

"Yeah, that's…crazy."

He kept talking. "It's exciting, isn't it? I mean, a little scary but exciting. I can't wait to get out of here, be on my own, start something totally new –"

"Troy, stop." He shut up immediately, both of us surprised. Then he blinked, confused. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about college, Troy. Please."

"Why not? Don't tell me you're worried." He actually looked amused. "You're brilliant Gabriella, every college is going to want you."

That wasn't my fear, at least not my biggest. But the thought of having to start all over, pack up and leave again just as I was getting settled made me ache. And knowing I had to leave Troy and Taylor and everybody, and East High and my house and my mom…it was something I forced myself not to think about. I had no other choice. I blocked it out..

"I just don't want to talk about this."

"Why not?"

"Troy…" I closed my eyes and looked down.

"Gabby, come on. When I didn't want to talk about the fight you made me, so now I'm making you." He dropped his spoon into his bowl and folded his hands in his lap, facing me.

"No Troy." I wanted him to hear from my voice that I needed this to stop. "This is different, and I don't want to talk about college."

"Why? I don't understand…."

"Troy… Please, drop this."

"I…" Whether he was confused or just lost for words, I don't know. "I'm sorry, Gabriella. I just…"

"Can't wait to get out of here?" The words caught in my throat and it was too awkward to look him in the eyes. The air was suffocating and silent.

But he knew what I meant. He looked at me, wordlessly.

"I'm going to go." I told him.

He jumped off his stool and reached his hand out to me as I stood up. "Gabby, no."

"Please, Troy. I don't want to fight again, I should just go."

I turned to leave when Jack and Chase came bursting in.

"Hey guys. What's going on?" Jack looked at us, smiling.

"Nothing." Troy lied and I avoided his glance.

"Well, Chase has something he wants to say." Chase was standing beside his dad with the biggest grin on his face.

"AL!" Jack called up the stairs and Alec came down, looking annoyed. "What?"

"Chase has something he wants to say. Go ahead Chase."

All eyes turned to him and he was bouncing on his toes. "We're going out for ice cream to celebrate." He spoke very slowly and carefully.

"What for?" Troy asked.

"Say it again Chase." Jack encouraged.

"We're going out for ice cream to celebrate." He repeated and both Jack and Chase looked at us expectantly. We must have looked so confused.

"I don't get it." Alec shrugged.

"Listen very carefully to your brother, guys. Chase, tell them again."

"We're going out for ice cream – "

Suddenly Troy yelled. "Oh my god, Chase!" His eyes got big and he looked so excited. "You did it!"

And all of a sudden I figured it out. Chase had finally perfected his 'r' pronunciation. He had graduated from speech therapy. He looked so proud of himself, standing there with a huge smile on his face; this was a big accomplishment for him.

"Chase!" I wanted to pick him up and hug him. "Good job! You sound so grown up."

"Thank you." He was grasping his hands together, looking like he had won a million dollars.

Jack patted him on the back. "He'll have one more session next week to wrap it up, but basically he's all done."

"Way to go, Chase." Alec gave him a high five. "Now we all get ice cream." He teased.

"Would like to come, Gabriella?" Jack asked. "We'd love to have you."

"Oh, that's okay. I should go." Troy was right beside me, we hadn't made eye contact since we walked out of the kitchen. But I could see him out of the corner of my eye with his hands shoved into his pockets. We'd already had one disaster eating ice cream, I don't know if a second attempt would work out either.

"Are you sure? It's a big celebration." Jack was grinning and he had a hand on Chase's shoulder.

I looked down at Chase. He was such an incredible little guy, standing there with his sandy blonde hair falling right above his eyes and his little blue t-shirt. Sometimes he felt like my own brother. And I was so proud of him.

"Okay," I gave a smile. "I'll come."

&&&

"Curious?"

"Curious."

"Surprise?"

"Sur..prise."

Lucy Bolton met us at Tastey Freeze, where we ate our ice cream under the outside awning and quizzed Chase on words with 'r' in them. Troy and I managed to act as if everything was fine, and it almost was, but it felt forced and awkward. I tried to concentrate on Chase, who had red and blue Spiderman ice cream all over his mouth and hands but looked thrilled with himself.

When we got back to the Bolton's house on Arrington Street I said good-bye to everyone and gave Chase a hug. Troy, of course, walked me out to my mom's car and we stood in the driveway under the hot sun. Neither one of us exactly sure what to say.

"Gabriella," Troy rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm really sorry about earlier. I didn't mean what you thought I meant."

"What did you mean?" I wiped a strand of hair from my forehead and wished I had a hair tie with me.

He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "I'm just excited, it has nothing to do with you."

"That's what I'm afraid of." I almost couldn't get the words out, because once I said them they were real. Troy was so excited about the future, even when he was scared. And it was so easy for him to get caught up in it that sometimes I worried if I was going to get left behind.

"No, I mean…" He was lost for words. "You know what I mean, right?"

"I don't know Troy." I sighed. "Sometimes we feel really differently about things."

"But Gabby…you have to know that I don't want to leave you. Sometimes I just say the wrong thing, you know that. Can we just forget I ever said it?"

For a second I wondered how many fights we could put into a closet and forget about before it became too much. But I knew this wasn't his fault, and that I needed let him be excited about college and his future. So I nodded, so ready to move on and let things be good again. "Okay."

He smiled, relieved. "So…can I kiss you good-bye now?"

I nodded again, a small smiling forming on my face.

And he did. He kissed me and pulled me in close, pressing me into his body with his hand on my lower back. And I tried to forget about the fights and the awkwardness and the apologies.

"I love you." He pulled back and smiled "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

And I looked him in the eyes, as we stood there in the driveway, melting under the hot sun, but still touching anyway. "I love you too." The words were sweet on my tongue and his eyes smiled when I said them. Then I hugged him good-bye, a little tighter and little longer than usual

* * *

This chapter was really hard to write, and it seems a little off to me, but I hope you liked it now that they have made up! I'm so tired of them fighting, so the next chapter will be happy, but I have to warn you that there will be another fight before she leaves for Brown.

Please review, it means so much to me!  
Sparks  
xoxoxox

Next chapter has the families & the Wildcats in it!


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